Address Before the Korean National Assembly in Seoul

November 12, 1983
Speaker Chae, Vice Speaker Yun, Vice Speaker Koh, distinguished Members of the National
Assembly, and honored guests:

I'm privileged to be among such friends. I stand in your Assembly as Presidents Eisenhower and
Johnson have stood before me. And I reaffirm, as they did, America's support and friendship for
the Republic of Korea and its people.

Not long after the war on this peninsula, your President paid a visit to Washington. In his remarks
at the state dinner, President Eisenhower spoke of the Korean people's courage, stamina, and
self-sacrifice. He spoke of America's pride in joining with the Korean people to prevent their
enslavement by the North. In response, your first President expressed his country's deep, deep
appreciation for what America had done. He concluded by saying, ``I tell you, my friends, if I live
hundreds of years, we will never be able to do enough to pay our debt of gratitude to you.''

Well, I have come today to tell the people of this great nation: Your debt has long been repaid.
Your loyalty, your friendship, your progress, your determination to build something better for
your people has proven many times over the depth of your gratitude. In these days of turmoil and
testing, the American people are very thankful for such a constant and devoted ally. Today,
America is grateful to you.

And we have long been friends. Over a hundred years ago when American ships first approached
Korea, our people knew almost nothing of each other. Yet, the first words from the kingdom of
Chosun to the emissaries from America were words of welcome and hope. I would like to read
part of that greeting to the Americans, because it tells much of the Korean people's character.

``Of what country are you? . . . are you well after your journey of 10,000 le through winds and
waves? Is it your plan to barter merchandise . . . or do you rather wish to pass by to other places
and to return to your native land? All under heaven are of one original nature, clothes and hats are
very different and language is not the same, yet they can treat each other with mutual friendship.
What your wish is, please make it known. . . .''

The journey from America is now swift. The winds and waves no longer endanger our way. But
the rules of conduct which assist travelers are the same today as they were over a century ago, or
even in ancient times. The weary are restored, the sick healed, the lost sheltered and returned
safely to their way. This is so on all continents among civilized nations.

Our world is sadder today, because these ancient and honorable practices could not protect the
lives of some recent travelers. Instead of offering assistance to a lost civilian airliner, the Soviet
Union attacked. Instead of offering condolences, it issued denials. Instead of offering
reassurances, it repeated its threats. Even in the search for our dead, the Soviet Union barred the
way. This behavior chilled the entire world. The people of Korea and the United States shared a
special grief and anger.

My nation's prayers went out to the Korean families who lost loved ones even as we prayed for
our own. May I ask you today to pause for a moment of silence for those who perished. Please
join me in this tribute in which the spirit of our two peoples will be as one.

[The moment of silence was observed.]

Amen.

In recent weeks, our grief deepened. The despicable North Korean attack in Rangoon deprived us
of trusted advisers and friends. So many of those who died had won admirers in America as they
studied with us or guided us with their counsel. I personally recall the wisdom and composure of
Foreign Minister Lee, with whom I met in Washington just a few short months ago. To the
families and countrymen of all those who were lost, America expresses its deep sorrow.

We also pledge to work with your government and others in the international community to
censure North Korea for its uncivilized behavior. Let every aggressor hear our words, because
Americans and Koreans speak with one voice. People who are free will not be slaves, and
freedom will not be lost in the Republic of Korea.

We in the United States have suffered a similar savage act of terrorism in recent weeks. Our
marines in Lebanon were murdered by madmen who cannot comprehend words like ``reason'' or
``decency.'' They seek to destroy not only peace but those who search for peace. We bear the pain
of our loses just as you bear the pain of yours. As we share friendship, we also share grief.

I know citizens of both our countries as well as those of other nations do not understand the
meaning of such tragedies. They wonder why there must be such hate. Of course, regrettably
there is no easy answer. We can place greater value on our true friends and allies. We can stand
more firmly by those principles that give us strength and guide us, and we can remember that
some attack us because we symbolize what they do not: hope, promise, the future. Nothing
exemplifies this better than the progress of Korea. Korea is proof that people's lives can be better.
And I want my presence today to draw attention to a great contrast. I'm talking about the contrast
between your economic miracle in the South and their economic failure in the North.

In the early years following World War II, the future of Korea and of all Asia was very much in
doubt. Against the hopes of Korea and other new nations for prosperity and freedom stood the
legacies of war, poverty, and colonial rule. In the background of this struggle, the great
ideological issues of our era were heard: Would the future of the region be democratic or
totalitarian? Communism, at that time, seemed to offer rapid industrialization. The notion that the
people of the region should govern their own lives seemed to some an impractical and undue
luxury. But Americans and the people of Korea shared a different vision of the future.

Then North Korea burst across the border, intent on destroying this country. We were a world
weary of war, but we did not hesitate. The United States, as well as other nations of the world
came to your aid against the aggression, and tens of thousands of Americans gave their lives in
defense of freedom.

As heavy as this price was, the Korean people paid an even heavier one. Civilian deaths mounted
to the hundreds of thousands. President Johnson said before this very Assembly, ``Who will ever
know how many children starved? How many refugees lie in unmarked graves along the roads
south? There is hardly a Korean family which did not lose a loved one in the assault from the
North.''

In 1951, in the midst of the war, General Douglas MacArthur addressed a Joint Session of our
Congress. He spoke of you, saying, ``The magnificence of the courage and fortitude of the
Korean people defies description.'' As he spoke those words, our Congress interrupted him with
applause for you and your people.

After the war, Koreans displayed that same fortitude. Korea faced every conceivable difficulty.
Cities were in ruins; millions were homeless and without jobs; factories were idle or destroyed;
hunger was widespread; the transportation system was dismembered; and the economy was
devastated as a result of all these plagues. And what did the Korean people do? You rebuilt your
lives, your families, your homes, your towns, your businesses, your country. And today the world
speaks of the Korean economic miracle.

The progress of the Korean economy is virtually without precedent. With few natural resources
other than the intelligence and energy of your people, in one generation you have transformed this
country from the devastation of war to the threshold of full development.

Per capita income has risen from about $80 in 1961 to more than 20 times -- $1,700 today. Korea
has become an industrial power, a major trading nation, and an economic model for developing
nations throughout the world. And you have earned the growing respect of the international
community. This is recognized in your expanding role as host to numerous international events,
including the 1986 Asian games and the 1988 Olympics.

Now as the years have passed, we know our vision was the proper one. North Korea is one of the
most repressive societies on Earth. It does not prosper; it arms. The rapid progress of your
economy and the stagnation of the North has demonstrated perhaps more clearly here than
anywhere else the value of a free economic system. Let the world look long and hard at both sides
of the 38th parallel and then ask: ``Which side enjoys a better life?''

The other side claims to be the wave of the future. Well, if that's true, why do they need barriers,
troops, and bullets to keep their people in? The tide of history is a freedom tide, and communism
cannot and will not hold it back.

The United States knows what you've accomplished here. In the 25 years following the war,
America provided almost $5\1/2\ billion in economic aid. Today that amounts to less than 6
months' trade between us. That trade is virtually in balance. We are at once Korea's largest market
and largest source of supplies. We're a leading source of the investment and technology needed to
fuel further development. Korea is our ninth largest trading partner, and our trade is growing.

Korea's rapid development benefited greatly from the free flow of trade which characterized the
1960's and 1970's. Today, in many countries, the call for protectionism is raised. I ask Korea to
join with the United States in rejecting those protectionist pressures to ensure that the growth
you've enjoyed is not endangered by a maze of restrictive practices.

And just as we work together toward prosperity, we work toward security. Let me make one
thing very plain. You are not alone, people of Korea. America is your friend, and we are with you.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty between the United States and
the Republic of Korea. The preamble to that treaty affirms the determination of our two countries
to oppose agression and to strengthen peace in the Pacific. We remain firmly committed to that
treaty. We seek peace on the peninsula. And that is why United States soldiers serve side by side
with Korean soldiers along your demilitarized zone. They symbolize the United States
commitment to your security and the security of the region. The United States will stand
resolutely by you, just as we stand with our allies in Europe and around the world.

In Korea, especially, we have learned the painful consequences of weakness. I am fully aware of
the threats you face only a few miles from here. North Korea is waging a campaign of
intimidation. Their country is on a war footing, with some 50 divisions and brigades and 750
combat aircraft. The North has dug tunnels under the demilitarized zone in their preparations for
war. They are perched and primed for conflict. They attacked you in Rangoon, and yet, in spite of
such constant threats from the North, you have progressed.

Our most heartfelt wish is that one day the vigil will no longer be needed. America shares your
belief that confrontation between North and South is not inevitable. Even as we stand with you to
resist aggression from the North, we will work with you to strengthen the peace on the peninsula.

Korea today remains the most firmly divided of the states whose division stemmed from World
War II. Austrian unity was reestablished peacefully 10 years after the war. Germany remains
divided, but some of the pain of that division has been eased by the inner-German agreement of a
decade ago. I know the Korean people also long for reconciliation. We believe that it must be for
the people of this peninsula to work toward that reconciliation, and we applaud the efforts you've
made to begin a dialog. For our part, we would, as we've often stressed, be willing to participate
in discussions with North Korea in any forum in which the Republic of Korea was equally
represented. The essential way forward is through direct discussions between South and
North.

Americans have watched with a mixture of sadness and joy your campaign to reunite families
separated by war. We have followed the stories of sisters torn apart at the moment of their
parents' deaths; of small children swept away in the tides of war; of people who have grown old
not knowing whether their families live or have perished.

I've heard about the program that uses television to reunite families that have been torn apart.
Today, I urge North Korea: It is time to participate in this TV reunification program and to allow
your people to appear. I would say to them, whatever your political differences with the South,
what harm can be done by letting the innocent families from North and South know of their loved
ones' health and welfare? Full reunification of families and peoples is a most basic human
right.

Until that day arrives, the United States, like the Republic of Korea, accepts the existing reality of
two Korean States and supports steps leading to improved relations among those states and their
allies.

We have also joined with you over the past 2 years in proposing measures which, if accepted,
would reduce the risk of miscalculation and the likelihood of violence on the peninsula. The
proposals we have made, such as mutual notification and observation of military exercises, are
similar to ones negotiated in Europe and observed by NATO and the Warsaw Pact. These
proposals are not intended to address fundamental political issues, but simply to make this heavily
armed peninsula a safer place. For we must not forget that on the peninsula today there are
several times more men under arms and vastly more firepower than in June of 1950. We will
continue to support efforts to reduce tensions and the risks of war.

I have spoken of the need for vigilance and strength to deter aggression and preserve peace and
economic progress, but there is another source of strength, and it is well represented in this
Assembly. The development of democratic political institutions is the surest means to build the
national consensus that is the foundation of true security.

The United States realizes how difficult political development is when, even as we speak, a shell
from the North could destroy this Assembly. My nation realizes the complexities of keeping a
peace so that the economic miracle can continue to increase the standard of living of your people.
The United States welcomes the goals that you have set for political development and increased
respect for human rights for democratic practices. We welcome President Chun's farsighted plans
for a constitutional transfer of power in 1988. Other measures for further development of Korean
political life will be equally important and will have our warm support.

Now, this will not be a simple process because of the ever-present threat from the North. But I
wish to assure you once again of America's unwavering support and the high regard of democratic
peoples everywhere as you take the bold and necessary steps toward political development.

Over 100 years ago you asked earlier American travelers to make their wishes known. Well, I
come today to you with our answer: Our wish is for peace and prosperity and freedom for an old
and valued ally.

In Washington several weeks ago, a memorial service was held for those who had perished on
Flight 007. During that service, a prayer was read. I would like to read you that prayer, because it
is a prayer for all mankind.

``O God . . .

Look with compassion on the whole human family;

Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts;

Break down the walls that separate us;

Unite us in bonds of love;

And work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth;

That, in your good time, all
the nations and races may serve you in harmony . . . .''

Note: President Reagan spoke at 12:30 p.m. in the Assembly Chamber at the National Assembly
Building. He was introduced by Chae MunShich, Speaker of the National Assembly.

Prior to the Assembly session, the President and Mrs. Reagan attended a tea in the Speaker's
Reception Room. Following the President's address, he and Mrs. Reagan attended a reception
with National Assembly leaders in the Assembly Lobby.